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Knights of the Hunt
The Knights of the Hunt are a troop of elite soldiers loyal to Martellus von Blitzengaard. They serve him his Smoke Knights, and have shown the between a normal human appearance, and a larger bipedal "werewolf" or Sparkhound-like form. As discussed below, it is not clear which of these, if either, is a Knight's default form. When in the latter form, while physically formidable, they come across as both impulsive and rather unintelligent. What overlap, if any, there is between "Sparkhounds" and "Knights of the Hunt" is also unclear. One evident difference is that Sparkhounds wear goggles, while the Knights do not. Whether the Knights started out as ordinary people or animals who have been Sparkily enhanced or are "from scratch" constructs created by Martellus (or some other Spark) is also currently unknown. Tybalt is the only Knight to date who has been named. Jaron the Night Master assassin (and vocal Knight non-fan) the grumpy assessment that Martellus "loves" his Knights and would be angered to hear about their deaths. Armor and the Wolf Man It is mentioned upon their first appearance in the comic that the Knights are all wearing Dr. Eg's Nerve-Enhancing Armor. Additionally, they have only been shown as human when wearing said armor. And to date, whenever a Knight removes his armor, he immediately converts to his his wolf-shape. Lacking any specific in-comic confirmation, this has led to two alternate fan-theories: # Wearing the armor is what allows the Knights to maintain their human form and intellect. # The armor has nothing to with the transformation, and must be shed simply because it no longer fits the Knight's frame as he transforms. Whichever is the correct interpretation, the Knights have only stripped out of their armor upon Martellus's direct order to do so. Tybalt at least expresses token reluctance whenever ordered to do so, saying he "likes" his armor. The Comic As noted, the Knights in human armored form when greeting Martellus as the Storm King as he disembarks from his airship when invading paying a visit of state to the Corbettite Depot Fortress of St. Szpac. At this point, the Knights seem to be serving as a cavalry unit under the command of Tybalt. They all wear white armor and salute with their sword tips pointed at the ground. They also ride for which we do not yet have a name. There is a very strong temptation to refer to these constructs as "half-tracks" but it is being resisted with steady resolve. Tybalt seems to accompany Martellus during his journey to Paris with Agatha, but we don't see the rest/more of the Knights again until the night of Grandmother and Seffie's when the local swarm of Geisterdamen attack; some Knights are present on guard-duty and once again shed their armor and counter-attack in wolf-form. A cadre/pack of the Knights are soon after in armorless wolf-form along with Martellus-minion Jaron to kill Tarvek while the latter man is traveling to England via airship. (Jaron is less than thrilled with this arrangement.) These Knights all wear a necklace/collar, although due to artistic sloppiness, these accessories tend to dis- and re-appear between panels. Tarvek is able to neutralize the creatures by brewing up a collection of throwable spheres which evidently cause excruciating pain when exploded in the targeted Knight's face, prompting him to jump off the airship. In the end all the Knights but one are killed; he (or at least doesn't fight to the death) and is tossed in the ship's brig as the vessel (eventually) resumes its trip to England. Category:Characters Category:M. Von Blitzengaard Construct Category:Von Blitzengaard Minion